Linda Green-Series 1 (2001)

This review is sponsored by

BUY IT

General		Extras
Category	Comedy	Main Menu Audio Biographies-Character
Rating
Year Of Production	2001
Running Time	285:24
RSDL / Flipper	RSDL Dual Disc Set	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	2,4	Directed By	Sydney Macartney
Studio Distributor	Roadshow Home Entertainment	Starring	Liza Tarbuck Claire Rushbrook Daniel Ryan Sean Gallagher Dave Hill Rachel Davies
Case	Amaray-Transparent-S/C-Dual
RPI	$49.95	Music	Guy Pratt

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.78:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.78:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English for the Hearing Impaired	Smoking	Yes, frequent
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

    Linda Green is a great new show. I hadn't seen it before viewing this DVD, but I will be keeping an eye out for the next season. I had the good fortune to review the first season of Manchild recently, and this is every bit as enjoyable - and of a similar very high standard. This is modern BBC television at its best. Liza Tarbuck plays the title role, and I had only ever seen her as the host of the reality documentary series Passport to The Sun (shown on Foxtel in Australia). (Her father, Jimmy Tarbuck, would be familiar to anyone who lived in the UK during the last thirty years - he is a near permanent fixture on TV shows and is one of the "old school" British comedians).

    Linda is a Rover car saleswoman, living in Manchester (The English city, not the K-Mart bedding department). In her early thirties, she knows that her biological clock is ticking, and the series tends to focus on her relationships with her friends and family - and her ongoing search for Mr Right.

    Linda has a core group of friends, whom she has known since her schooldays. We get to meet Michelle (excellently portrayed by Claire Rushbrook, who looks remarkably like Brenda Blethyn) and her randy boyfriend Darren (an amiable Daniel Ryan), who are at it like rabbits whenever the chance allows. The other main friend in Linda's life is Jimmy (a great performance from Sean Gallagher) - a mechanic who works at the same car dealership. As well as being a close friend, ever ready to provide a shoulder to cry on, Jimmy often pops round for a quick "shag", whenever he and Linda are both single. Jimmy is really starting to realise that Linda may be "the one" for him - Linda however doesn't quite realise that.

    Her world-weary, union delegate, teacher father Frank (well played by the understated Dave Hill), mother Iris (Rachel Davies) and younger brother Fizz and sister Katy round out the only lasting relationships in her life. Linda also has an active social life - she sings part-time at the local social club. The songs she sings at the start and end of each episode usually have a witty link with the plot-line - a nice touch. It must be said though, that Tarbuck, whilst competent and clearly game, is certainly not a professional singer. Her voice is somewhat on the baritone side, and seems to span about half an octave. Liza Tarbuck does have some very expressive body language however, and is able to communicate a great deal with a simple glance, or a steely stare.

    The disc presents us with all ten of the episodes from the first series. Below is a brief synopsis of the action from each one:

• Episode 1 - (28:25): Linda "chucks" her latest paramour Neil, and while he is off spending her holiday money in Ibiza, begins a rebound affair with his identical twin Tom. Meanwhile, Jimmy is dating a femme-fatale, who entices Michelle and Darren into a foursome to celebrate Michelle's birthday.



• Episode 2 - (29:06): Pete is an old friend from school. He has surrendered to the demands of his girlfriend and given up his flat and all his belongings, whilst living a morose and self-deprecating life. Surely the ebullient Linda and her posse can shake some sense into him? An hilarious episode with an outstanding turn from David Morrissey as Pete.



• Episode 3 - (28:31): Fed-up with her inability to score, Linda takes a sexual holiday from men, and decides to make friends with locals from the Isle of Lesbos. Just her luck though, Michelle pulls twice at the local ladies night whilst Linda, unlike the little Dutch boy, gets her finger nowhere near a dyke.



• Episode 4 - (29:00): A fresh face at work means fresh meat for Linda. The virginal apprentice Ricky becomes Linda's project-du-jour as she determines to mould herself the ideal boyfriend. Eventually, even Linda finds the age-gap insurmountable - but who can she find to take Ricky off her hands?



• Episode 5 - (29:03): A truly touching episode despite some terribly guilty laughs. The gang hear of the death of a contemporary from school and attend her funeral out of morbid fascination. Poor old Debbie Mott, drops dead from a heart attack leaving nary a friend behind to mourn her. Michelle becomes obsessed with making Debbie's mum believe that Debbie will be sadly missed.



• Episode 6 - (28:41): Linda's flat gets burgled, leaving her feeling vulnerable and insecure. Unfortunately, it seems that police do not offer much support - but luckily the strange "detective" Norma Fitts is at hand! Darren begins an exploration of the sometimes murky world of Internet sex chat-lines.



• Episode 7 - (28:47): Linda is angered by Syd's constant sexual harassment of her female co-workers. After all, if they get hassled, why the hell doesn't she? Meanwhile, Linda's mum starts overdosing on HRT patches, with potentially disastrous - albeit rhythmic - consequences for her marriage.



• Episode 8 - (28:46): Linda undergoes a lifestyle change - no more booze, fags or sex? Her new ultra-fit boyfriend Carl is a champion in the gym...although a novice in the sexual gymnastics stakes.



• Episode 9 - (28:05): Featuring a role for Liza Tarbuck's real-life father, this episode shows what happens when Linda's Uncle Vic returns from his expat life in Hong Kong. It soon becomes very apparent to everyone, that Vic bears more than a passing resemblance to Linda....



• Episode 10 - (27:42):The final, and shortest episode in the first series (boo!). Michelle is pregnant again and seriously considering marriage despite her pact with Linda after double English in third year! Linda is appalled by the idea of marriage and children, but Jimmy is another matter. He is seriously worrying about how old he will be before he can take his son into the pub for a pint. Linda acquires a surrogate son to experiment with.

    The series is genuinely funny, but with an ever-present undertone of sadness. Linda is outwardly self-assured and occasionally overbearing. Inside however, she is getting lonely and is in need of someone to become a serious partner in her life. Some of the episodes are quite touching, and thought-provoking. This programme might not have you laughing out loud every five minutes, but it will always make you smile - sometimes with a hint of shocked embarrassment. The topics covered are often sexual in nature and the discussions can be quite frank sometimes, (although nowhere near as explicit as Sex and the City), so you may want to send the kids or the parents to bed before you watch it. Top notch writing, acting and production values - this is quality television, period.

Video

    The overall video transfer of this disc, for a television series, is very good indeed.

    The series is presented in its assumed original aspect ratio of 1.78:1 and it has been 16x9 enhanced.

    The transfer, as might be expected for such recent material, is essentially flawless. It has a tiny hint of softness occasionally, but appears as sharp as any (standard definition) digital broadcast on Australian television today.

     Shadow detail is good and black levels are excellent with no low-level noise present. Colours are very realistic and well rendered. Skin tones are totally natural throughout.

    The transfer is free from MPEG artefacts. Aliasing is virtually absent, with only the merest hint cropping up if you look really, really hard. There was no noticeable edge enhancement. There are absolutely no scratches or flecks evident.

    There is an English for the Hard of Hearing subtitle track present, which follows the dialogue reasonably closely, giving appropriate audio cues, but does miss or paraphrase some of the dialogue. You will still get the gist, but these are not the most accurate subtitles I have ever seen.

    This series comes on two RSDL discs, with five episodes per disc. I was unable to locate the layer change on either disc, so I assume that they are sensibly placed between episodes.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    The overall audio quality of this disc is very good, if a little unremarkable. I could spot no significant defects at all, bar an almost imperceptible hiccup in the music track at 13:26 and 13:29 during Episode 8.

    The audio track is in English Dolby Digital 2.0 encoded at a slight 192 kbps.

    Dialogue was always crystal clear and audio synch was fine.

    The music is provided courtesy of a great range of pop-songs, quite well rendered by Liza Tarbuck although, as mentioned earlier, she is by not up to professional singing standard. All of the songs are toe-tappers, and I must admit that for me, despite Linda's vocal limitations, the songs are a highlight of each episode.

    The soundstage is quite satisfactory, particularly with Pro Logic enabled. The surrounds see limited use, as the series is largely dialogue driven, with the exception of Linda's stage performances when the surrounds support the music track (with a slight delay introduced - presumably deliberately to mimic the sound quality found in a social club). Occasional ambient effects can be heard from the surrounds too, although nothing particularly noteworthy.

    The subwoofer was used to carry some bass, but obviously LFE effects are absent.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

    There are almost no extras on the disc.

Menu

    The menu is a static photograph of Linda Green. It allows the selection of individual episodes (each with four chapter stops), the option to play all episodes in sequence or the following extra.

Linda's World

    Presented as a series of selectable text pages, we are allowed to read brief character studies of Linda, her friends and family. Very slight value here.

    This DVD does not appear to be available in Region 1. The Region 2 disc appears to be identical to the Region 4 release (indeed the Region 4 is coded for both Regions).

    Linda Green is a treat. The humour is sometimes understated but omnipresent. There is often a tinge of sadness present too, and it is easy to empathise with Linda's struggle to find love. The acting is top-notch, the cast excellent and the plotlines always fun. With a warm, funny and sometimes poignant performance from Liza Tarbuck, this is a series I am sure many people will be collecting - perhaps appealing more to a female audience? Oh well, I'll collect Manchild and my wife can have Linda Green (and then we can swap!).

    The video quality is very good for a television series.

    The audio quality is very good for a television series.

    The extras are insignificant.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall